Surajkund International Crafts Mela to begin Sunday

The 29th edition of the Surajkund International Crafts Mela is just two days away. Final touches are now being given to the elaborate arrangements made for the grand annual event.
With every passing year it has grown to the next level of expertise as far as the arrangements are concerned. This time, there is more attention on security arrangements and comfort of the visitors, and attempts are being made to remove the inconveniences faced by visitors and participants last year.
In the current edition, Chhattisgarh is the theme state and Lebanon the partner country. Artisans from 20 countries would be participating in the grand event, the highest so far in regards to the number of participating country.

In order to counter any act of terrorism, SWAT team will be deployed. In addition to SWAT, bomb disposal squad would also be on their toes during the 14-day fair. Quick response team has also been assigned for additional security. More than 1,200 police personnel would be deployed to avoid any untoward incident, said DCP NIT, Faridabad Sumit Kumar.
To secure the fair ground and prevent theft at night, 125 night vision cameras have been installed.
Commissioner of Police Subhash Yadav said female police personnel in plain clothes will also be deployed on the Mela ground to prevent eve-teasing. DCP Kumar said besides securing the Mela compound, police are keeping a check in surrounding slum areas to rule out anti-social activities.

Other than security, another major issue is that of parking. The mela authorities have demarcated 12 sites for parking of vehicles. The parking sites have been allocated in a way so that visitors coming from any direction i.E. Gurgaon, Delhi or Faridabad, feel comfortable in parking vehicles.

Arrangements have been made to park more than 25,000 cars at a time. Apart from these arrangements, parking facilities of hotels and restaurants will be utilised, said Rajesh Joon, Nodal Officer of Surajkund Mela Authority.
"Since, in past years we have experienced panic situation of parking in the week-ends, we have increased the total space available for parking this year," Joon said.

While there were rumours that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Mela, the authorities denied any such proposal. The opening ceremony will be presided over by Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his counterpart in Chhattisgarh Raman Singh.